Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai set a course record in the men's marathon with a time of 2 hours 4min 40sec while his compatriot, the world half-marathon record holder Mary Keitany, won the women's race in 2:19:19, a ten minute improvement on her debut performance in New York City last November.

Meanwhile Britain's David Weir claimed a fifth London Marathon victory to become the most successful men's wheelchair racer in the history of the event, while Amanda McGrory of the United States claimed a course record of 1:46:31 in the women's wheelchair race.

Bedford, the former world record holder in the 10,000 metres, is set to vacate his post as race director following the 2013 marathon, when he will have been involved with the London Marathon in an official capacity for 28 years and will be 63.

He said that the 2011 edition of the event is one of the best races he has overseen in his long career.

"I've done a lot of these over the years and yesterday was one of the best," Bedford said here at the closing press conference.

"The weather was perfect for the elite races, the course looked great, and I think we did London proud.

"We had two stunning races.

"Mary Keitany joined a small elite club who've run faster than two hours 20 minutes and we had absolutely incredible strength in depth in the women's race.

"As for the men's race, 2:05 is a good time to have as a course record but for us to have 2:04 is very important.

"Thanks to Emmanuel Mutai, we showed that this is an incredibly fast course.

"We also had two incredible wheelchair races, including a course record by Amanda McGrory whose victory over Shelly Woods very nearly required the photo finish equipment.

"In the men's wheelchair race David Weir showed that when he is not punctured he is very difficult to beat.

"He has five wins, of course, but now he wants a sixth to match Tanni Grey-Thompson's record here.

"No doubt that'll be next year's goal."

Bedford also picked out the strong debut by Jo Pavey, the Briton who finished 19th in the women's race in an Olympic qualifying time, as well as Louise Damen's positive run a couple of places behind.


But it was Martin Lel's astonishing return to racing form that most pleased the London Marathon race director on his last race day in sole command.

"That sprint between Lel and Patrick Makau was incredible," he said, referring to the three-time London Marathon winner's final dash down The Mall to secure second place.

"It's probably my personal favourite elite story of the year.

"When I spoke to Martin at the Kenyan cross country trials earlier this year he told me things weren't going well and there was no way he could run.

"A few weeks later he asked to be added to the field.

"I assumed he was going to enjoy a decent-paced run.

"So to do what he did yesterday was absolutely outstanding."

Bedford added that he hopes to assemble a strong field for the 2012 London Marathon despite the event taking place just three months ahead of the Olympic Marathon.

Bedford himself actually quit his position as manager of the 2012 Olympic marathon because of his "frustration" with the Games organisers but kept his focus on the London Marathon next year.

"I haven't started the negotiations yet, but it will be great to have our champions back," he said.

"In the men's race, I'm hoping to have our 2011 champion Emmanuel Mutai and our 2010 champion Tsegaye Kebede [from Ethiopia].

"I'm also hoping to have Martin Lel and 2009 champion Samuel Wanjiru [from Kenya] in the field and you probably don't even need anyone else.

"I haven't really thought about the women's race at this stage but we are confident of a strong field once again."

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April 2011: Mutai breaks London Marathon course record as Kenyans dominate